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planet melvin

I entered the on-ramp for downtown set to go for the night. I was hardly aware of the Friday night crowd slowing three lanes of Hennepin avenue–all aglow in dancing neon. I was en route to check out the buzz of a three piece band who call themselves planet melvin. After slipping through the usual guest list quandary, I entered the renowned dank and black Minneapolis legend, the Seventh Street Entry. I swirled in with the mass of bodies anticipating the show and scanned for the optimal vantage point. Bowie’s Lady Stardust pumped through the mains while the tall and lanky bass player in his highly reflective yellow shirt and skin-tight velvet pants entered the stage. Next the ultra compact drummer entered and laid down an oily groove while the bassist extruded a dense mass of head-bobbing fury. I then saw what appeared to be two sanitation workers walk onto the stage carrying a shiny silver trash can. They removed the lid and gestured toward the reeking contents. They then picked up the vessel and dumped out the lead singer. The crowd shouted as the peculiar little fellow in his full-length leopard coat crept like a mongoose to his mic stand. I had to wonder. Was I re-living the ’70s entertaining visions of Alice Cooper, Queen, The (New York) Dolls; or was this a crackling anticipation of something sleekly fresh and modern? The singer’s eyeliner ran slowly down his face mixing with his sweaty intensity. He passionately wove a story of a beautiful young woman while eloquently describing the essence in a kaleidoscope of colors. My dope vantage point soon began to feel much less spacious, which in turn revealed a possessed air-guitar guru who managed to mimic every one of their funked-up moves. Planet Melvin abducted me and probed with their penetrating and lustrously crafted pop space machine. I was transported, from Inside Jane and Me and My Alien, to the Lennonesque ballad Death Is Gone. Their gravitational pull sucked me onto their vast landscape and then launched me into orbit as the set closed with the main man blessing his witnesses; “May the sun shine down on your beautiful bodies.” I was truly lost in space knowing I had just seen one of the most far out bands on the planet, at least on planet earth-Norman dunn

planet melvinhas been together and stunning audiences since 1995 with their vibrant, outrageous, reved-up pop alchemy, with the help of

planet melvin has appeared on over 140 radio playlists in the Midwest and on CMJ’s top ten on more than one occasion. The band will continue to tour and broaden their fanbase with a new CD and major label inter-est. Planet Melvin has appeared onstage with such artists as The Verve, Iggy Pop, Chris Whitley, The Smithereens, Sarah McLachlan, Deadeye Dick, Cracker and Smash Mouth